Birthday Cake
by burningbaconwrites
Summary: Sequel to Chocolate Cake where Adrien makes Marinette a cake for her surprise birthday party.
1. Chapter 1

**[And here we have Birthday Cake, the sequel to Chocolate Cake! Thank you all so much for your kind words and support :) I hope you all like this story as much as Chocolate Cake!]**

Chapter 1

Alya was beyond ecstatic. Her best friend, her bumbling, awkward Marinette, was dating Adrien Agreste. Well, they weren't officially dating, but it was obvious that they liked each other. And, in her opinion, it was definitely more fun to see the two as a couple, even if they wouldn't admit it yet. To Alya, they had become boyfriend and girlfriend the second Adrien had ran after Mari that fateful day.

In fact, it had been three weeks since Alya had first witnessed Adrien rushing out of class to comfort Marinette. Man it felt like so much longer than that. Alya hadn't even had time to comprehend how relaxed and calm Mari was around the model. It just happened. One day Mari was foaming at the mouth when Adrien looked at her, and the next they were kissing in the gym. Now that had been a good day.

Though the 'lovers' didn't know, her and Nino had been following them since first discovering the model working at the Dupain Cheng's bakery. After the dj and the blogger had been abandoned by their friends, the two had decided to just walk around town. Passing by Marinette's house was a complete coincidence, but not one they weren't grateful for. Ever since then, Alya and Nino had done nothing but plot. Nothing but plotting and planning on how to get the two together. Turns out, they needn't do anything. Well, there was one thing they could do. As it happens, they were already doing it. And it turns out they weren't the only ones doing it either.

At the moment, both Alya and Nino were on their way to the Dupain Cheng bakery. And no, they weren't there to buy pastries. They were there on more important matters. Matters of the heart. Well, technically there were more photos involved than hearts…but hearts were still very important to their mission. The mission Nino liked to refer to as "Wedding Day Preparation". It was a fitting name, even if it was unlikely for at least a few years.

As Alya and Nino arrived at the bakery, a brightly colored CLOSED sign hung above the door, barring their way. Yet they only grinned as Alya pulled out a key, twisting it in the lock before letting the two of them inside, making sure to lock the door behind her.

The bakery was completely deserted. However, that was to be expected. In fact, it happened to be part of their plan. The two simply ignored the abandoned bakery, and were quick to make it up the staircase in the back, unconsciously holding hands along the way.

The door was thrown open ahead of them, and the teens nearly tripped as Tom's beaming face popped up in front of them. Yet his face was gone in a second, and they were left with only the baker's guiding hands, urging the two inside.

"Hey Sabine! The kiddos made it! Get the 'evidence'!"

As the blogger and the DJ stepped inside, they heard a faint giggling coming from the kitchen, as well as a 'Stop referring to it as evidence Tommy!' that could only be from Sabine. Yet as the teens sat down, Sabine came in with the 'evidence' in her arms.

"Are we all ready sweeties?" Alya smiled and nodded vigorously while Nino simply grinned and stood to help Mrs. Dupain Cheng as she juggled the pile of photos and cameras about to tumble to the floor.

Once the four were seated, and the 'evidence' lay scattered on the coffee table, the scheming friends and family began their elaborate plan.

Marinette was exhausted. Not sleep deprived like she had been a few weeks ago, but over-fenced, if that was even a thing. And she had no one to blame but herself. The designer had tended to overestimate her abilities while learning how to fence. Apparently, though she was still fit, her superheroine strength was not expressed in her civilian form. That was easiest to see when she was lying down on the cold gym floor to avoid being hit with any more pointy sticks.

Adrien stood to the side, panting and looking down at the exhausted Marinette. He had told her to take it easy, but he should have known better. Mari was just too stubborn to back down to a challenge.

"You all right there Mari?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be okay just give me a minute."

"A minute? Ladybug could get by with a second." Mari immediately turned her head and glared at Adrien.

"Oh, you wanna bet kitty?" And in no more than a second, Marinette was on her feet with the tip of her foil inches away from the model's chest. Adrien immediately dropped his own foil and heard it clatter to the ground as Mari's face lit up with a grin rivaling that of Cat Noir's.

"Woah there bugaboo, I was joking no need to EEK!" Adrien jumped and looked down to see the foil poking his chest, slightly bent from the contact.

"I thought I told you not to call me bugaboo…" Adrien looked back up with a sheepish grin on his face.

"I guess I should start running then?" The designer only smiled and pulled the foil away (to Adrien's relief) only to let it fall to the floor with a bang.

And that was his cue. Adrien spun on his heel and tried to build up speed along the slick gym floor. He wasn't moving too fast, but fortunately, neither was Mari.

"Buginette! I forfeit! You win!"

"Oh really, Breadqueen? Cause it looks to me like you're still running!"

"Breadqueen?! My lady, I'm flattered you think of me as royalty!" Adrien was waiting for her imminent response when he felt something touch his shoulder. As he ran, the model turned his head to see Marinette reaching out for his shoulder. He was shocked but not surprised to see the heroine catch up so fast. And again, the boy jumped. He may or may not have let out a small squeak as well.

The model then put on a burst of speed to escape Marinette's reach. And that was when he realized there was no escaping Ladybug. So he started running toward his bookbag.

"Plagg! Help! Mari's gonna kill me!" Adrien watched the bag anxiously and saw a small, black head peek out. The head first looked his way, and then proceeded to look upwards. His gaze rested on something above Adrien, and the cat simply sunk back into the bag without a single word.

"Plaggrhghg!" And all of a sudden, Adrien lay flat on his face. Though he hadn't seen what had happened, he guessed that Mari had pounced on him from behind. Like a cat. Apparently, she didn't hold the term 'bugaboo' with as much affection as Adrien did.

"Meeri! Gert orf meh!"

"Not until I come up with an equally annoying nickname for you too! Hmm, what about _Flour_ power? No I already used that… _Cat_ astrophe? Ooo I like that one…"

Adrien sighed and stared at the floor while he listened to Mari come up with new pun-filled names. He decided to just drone it all out until she finally got off of him. That is, if she got off of him.

With Mari's sweet voice at the back of his head, Adrien listened to the silence of a school after hours. Yet, for some reason, it wasn't silent. Not completely. He could just hear the hushed whisperings of a group of eavesdroppers from across the room. But no one else was supposed to be there. Right?

To avoid alerting Mari, Adrien slowly pulled his arms toward his chest, and used them to prop himself up so he could turn his head. He still couldn't see directly behind him, what with Marinette sprawled across his back, but he didn't need to. Off to the side on the balcony was a group of people dressed in white. People he knew. They were whispering quietly to each other, trying desperately to quell their laughter so as to not be heard.

And then one of them turned his head and looked directly at Adrien. The second he saw the model staring back, he turned back toward the rest of his group, whispering more and gesturing toward the two on the floor. And suddenly, Adrien realized why they were here. It was Wednesday, not Tuesday. Somehow he had gotten the idea into his head that today was Tuesday, the day he and Mari would normally practice fencing. Yet they had missed practice yesterday. And Wednesday was the day the fencing club used the gym. Crap.

"Uhhh Mari, I think we need to go…"

"I told you Kittyboy, we're not going until I come up with a good nickname."

"Ssssshhh! No, I mean we really need to go. Mari, just-look behind you."

"Come on Adri there's nothing behind...me. Oh." As soon as the designer turned her head, all eyes were on her. Fortunately, Adrien was the only one close enough to see her blushing as red as Ladybug's suit. Which was kind of ironic considering their situation. "Y-yeah you're right, let's go."

Adrien smiled softly as he waited for Marinette to get off of him; he didn't know that he happened to be blushing just as much if not more than the sweet girl. "Uh Mari, we can't go until you get off me…"

"Oh, oh yes, of course. Right, s-sorry." And then Adrien felt the air hit his back and he instantly felt lighter. He got to his feet and stood next to Mari as the club members walked toward the two. Marinette must have come to the same conclusion as him, because she asked no questions. She simply stood stock still at his side while the group of teens came closer.

"Hey 'kittyboy'! Since when did you have a girlfriend?"

"I'M NO-SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" The two spoke simultaneously, but it was clear what they had said. And how wrong they were even more so.

"Ha sure, sure. Now do we get the gym back?" The boy who spoke had a mischievous grin on his face as he spoke. It only made Adrien all the more nervous and much more sure of his blush stained face.

"Yeah totally, sorry for the mishap guys."

"Nooo proooblemo." And then he winked. Adrien didn't recall ever learning the kid's name, but he'd seen him around for sure. He was the class clown type guy, sure to poke fun at him and Mari if they didn't leave right now.

Adrien hurriedly picked up their bags and turned to placed his sweaty palms on the girl's shoulders, gently pushing her along as she tentatively made her way to the locker rooms. And once they reached the entrance, he practically shoved her (very gently) through the doors. It took a full minute of Mari staring at him blankly for him to realize that he was in the girls' locker room as well. Head down and shoulders hunched, he booked it to the safety of his own locker room without incident.

"Well Adri, that was pretty eventful."

"Heh, you're telling me." And then their conversation came to an abrupt stop. Neither of the two could feel the lingering blushes stuck to their faces, but the walk to Marinette's house was still extremely awkward. Adrien just couldn't get over the fact that he had forgotten what day it was. With the strict schedule Natalie prepared for him each day, it was hard to believe he could mess up the days like that, Though he still might beat himself up about it later, Adrien decided to just let it go for now. They had been having such a good time in there, and the fencing club showing up probably freaked Mari out. So, like the good friend he was, Adrien wouldn't let her forget it.

"So, do you regret sitting on me now?" Adrien smirked and added an eyebrow wiggle for emphasis.

"W-what?! No! I-i mean yes! ARGH ADRIEN!"

"Aww come on my little cup of tea-"

Mari turned her blushing face away and shoved her hand in the model's direction.

"No." And with that, her hand was on the friend's face, fingers splayed with a few up his nose and in his mouth.

"Uhh…" The realization of what she had just done hit the designer like a bullet. Mari jumped back and tore her hand away.

"OHMYGOSHADRIENIMSOSORRY!" Adrien had stopped walking by now and stood stock still, staring off at nothing. And then the laughter burst forth from his chest. He doubled over laughing with Mari at his side as red as a rose. Her mouth was open in the shape of an O and it made their whole situation even funnier.

Adrien didn't know when, but at some point he had collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles. It took Marinette a few seconds, but once she fully processed the situation, she was practically shrieking with joy as well. A few passerbys gave them odd looks, and some slightly concerned ones as well, but it didn't matter.

Yet again, laughter had cured their awkwardness, and the two teens didn't make it to the bakery for another half hour or so. They walked in, ready to face the crowd of customers rushing to buy their goods, but they were only met with emptiness.

"Hey Mari, I thought the shop was open today."

"Yeah, me too..." The two started walking toward the staircase in the back, and jumped as they heard a loud shriek coming from upstairs.

With a single glance, the two spoke a thousand words, and their inner superhero selves had them running up the stairs like madmen. Adrien, with his longer legs, made it to the top first. He threw the door open with Marinette right behind him. He then opened his mouth to speak, yet it only hung open in shock as he surveyed the scene before him.

Marinette's parents sat on the living room couch, their heads turned to face the newcomers. But what was really weird, was Alya standing on the coffee table, clutching a photograph to her chest, now staring in horror at the model's entrance. Nino stood behind the blogger, motioning for Adrien to leave. But he wouldn't get a chance to, because Marinette shoved him from behind, causing the teen to fall flat on his face with Mari on top of him, again.

At the same time, the Dupain Chengs and his two friends were sweeping their collection of photos and cameras (which he had just noticed) onto the floor. Marinette blinked in surprise at the loud clatter that sounded from across the room. The four by the couch simply stood and moved in front of the mess, acting as if absolutely nothing had happened.

"Mooooom, daaaad what's all this?" The recipients of the question smiled softly and nodded their heads in some unknown agreement. Mrs. Dupain Cheng was the first to speak.

"Whatever do you mean dear? Your father and I were just catching up with some of your friends." Adrien could tell something was up, you didn't need good parents to see that. And then Mr. Dupain Cheng leaned over and whispered something into Nino's ear. The DJ nodded enthusiastically and Adrien sighed internally. Whatever they were trying to hide, well, they weren't exactly doing the best job of hiding it.

Marinette simply stared at her parents with a look equivalent to someone who knew her parents were hiding something and was very confused as to what it could possibly be.

Adrien softly nudged her shoulder, and the girl jumped out of her daze and off of her soon to be boyfriend. Marinette opened her mouth again as if she were about to speak, but she never got a chance. Alya jumped forward with a gleam in her eye.

"Sorry for bother you Mr. and Mrs. Dupain Cheng, it's been a 'pleasure' doing business with you."

Tom beamed at this a bit too enthusiastically before he spoke. "Oh thank you dear, the pleasure is ours. And Mari, would you help me escort our guests out. It's time they be getting home."

Yet again, Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but Alya was on her in a second. Slapping her hand against the designer's mouth, the blogger nearly carried her friend out the door. Tom and Nino soon followed, and Adrien didn't miss the wink his friend aimed his way. He moved to follow the crowd out the door, but he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Sabine smiling at him sweetly.

"If you don't mind, there's something I wanted to ask you Adrien."

Adrien nodded slowly, feeling extremely nervous as Sabine closed the door to the bakery and waited for the sounds of descending footsteps to fade. Once all was silent, she turned and smiled again at the boy, gesturing for him to take a seat. Once he crossed the room and sat down, he looked over at the woman, hoping he wasn't getting scolded or something like that. (It was so common at his own home that he was surprised to have seen so little negativity here).

"Uhhh, what did you want to talk to me about Mrs. Dupain Cheng?" While the model sat with his back straight and ears ready, the baker's wife smiled sweetly and face the model with an air of calmness about her.

"Adrien please, just call me Sabine."

"A-alright, what is it Sabine?" Well, he was off to a great start now wasn't he.

"Do you recall a couple weeks ago, when Tom and I got back from our trip?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Of course he had. That was kinda the day Mari started looking so, umm, so cute...Now he was sure he was about to get a scolding. They must have seen him about to smooch Mari when they arrived and kept quiet till now.

"Well, I remember that you asked us if we were planning a birthday party for Marinette that day. And at the time we had no such plans, but seeing as Mari's birthday is next week, well, now we do." Oh. Adrien felt an immense relief wash over him. He should have known everything would be okay. The Dupain Chengs had been so nice to him the past few weeks. He just assumed that he'd get scolded eventually. It happened all the time at home…

But a birthday party! Wow. And Marinette's at that. He hadn't even known her birthday was coming up. He would need to get her something. Something good. She was his best friend after all, well, he liked to think so that is. But what could he get her? What would she, wait a sec...wasn't he talking to someone?

"O-oh uhh cool. But umm, what did you want me to do?"

"Well, when you made that chocolate cake a few weeks ago, Marinette absolutely loved it. She couldn't stop talking about how sweet and fluffy it was. So, I was hoping you would bake her birthday cake as well. I'm sure she would love it, but if you're too busy I can make do with my own baking."

And that moment was the moment Adrien exploded. Not literally of course, but mentally, yes. He wanted to scream that he'd bake Marinette a hundred birthday cakes. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. But he calmed his excitement to speak coherently for at least the next ten seconds.

"I-i would love to bake Mari's cake! That'd be great! A-and if there's anything else I can do to help, I'll do it!"

Sabine reached an arm out and set it on the boy's shoulder. "Thank you Adrien. She'll love it, she really will. And since you're here, you get this early."

Mrs. Dupain Cheng reached into her pocket with her free hand and pulled out a plain white envelope with the name 'Adrien' written on the front in soft, looping letters. She placed it in the boy's hand and Adrien smiled up joyfully at the woman.

"Would you like a ride home dear? I think Tom may have taken Marinette somewhere. Sorry to cut your date short…"

"Uhh...no, I can just walk…" Date? DATE? WAS THAT A DATE? Well it was too late now. Somehow Adrien had found himself walking out the door with Sabine, waving goodbye to the sweet woman with the letter still clutched in his hand.

His legs moved on his own as he walked home, he couldn't even think about where he was going he was so distracted. Five minutes later he finally looked down at the letter. As he walked he opened it and pulled out a pink card. It was decorated with dark pink hearts and tiny hamsters. At the top in big, bold letters it said, 'You've been invited to Marinette's birthday party!' The rest of the letter held information regarding the place, time, and the fact that it was a surprise party.

Wow. This would be his first real birthday party. He didn't even care that it wasn't his. A real birthday party with games and friends and cake and...friends. The boy was almost in tears by the time he got home.

No one noticed when the delighted teen finally skipped into the Agreste mansion. And no one was around to see him twirl into his empty bedroom. He landed on his waiting bed and sighed, clutching the invitation to his chest. He smiled and looked out his window at the beautiful sight of Paris in the evening. He would get to make a cake for his lady, for the most wonderful person he knew. He could hear Plagg murmuring something about weird lovesick humans in the corner, but nothing could bring him down now. Nothing...


	2. Chapter 2

**[Look at that, chapter 2 is finally done! Also thank you all for being so patient with me! Next chapter should be out soon but it may take a bit longer on account of school/end of term stuff. Again thank you and hope you enjoy!]**

Chapter 2

Adrien woke to the rays of bright sunshine filtering through his window. He blinked open his weary eyes and looked around his room. In some vague corner he could see a clock, but his still half-asleep eyes couldn't make out an exact time. Was it 5:00? Or did it say 9:00? Maybe it was like 6:87 and he just couldn't see. Wait… 6:87 wasn't a time….was it?

Rather than try to figure out the time, Adrien decided to just go back to sleep. Nathalie would wake him up for school later. He'd been having a really good dream. One where he was riding on Ladybug's shoulders like a little kid. Maybe he had been a little kid again, it sure seemed like it. But as he tried to enter back into the child-like dream of his, Adrien found himself slowly waking up. He tried to ignore it and enter his dream once again, but it was to no avail.

He then decided to shift gears. Thinking back to last night, the boy began to brainstorm what to get Mari for her birthday. He had been up thinking about it for a while last night, but he had never come to a conclusion.

He opened his eyes for a second and surveyed his room. And not a second later, his eyes landed on a blue scarf placed neatly on his desk. The boy couldn't help but smile to himself. The scarf had been a gift from his father, one he cherished dearly. Maybe he could find out who manufactured it and get a matching one for Mari. In pink of course. But, no. He couldn't do that. It had to be something more than what he could buy. Mari was worth more than a credit card.

Closing his eyes once more, Adrien wondered what he could do for that amazing girl. He would make it. That was final. But what to make?. What could he make? Man this was gonna be harder than he thought.

Adrien desperately wanted to brainstorm more ideas, but his internal clock was telling him it was time to get up. Though that might have just been Plagg..

The kwami was repeatedly flying into the back of the model's head, yelling something about school and being late and-BANG.

Adrien was suddenly jolted back to reality. He had sat straight up, flinging the covers to the side and watched in terror as Nathalie came storming into the room.

"Adrien! I woke you up precisely 32 minutes ago, why aren't you ready?! School starts in exactly 9.5 minutes!"

"I'm so sorry Nat I'll be out in five!" Nathalie simply huffed and turned to storm out of the room, but before she could get a chance to, something caught her eye. Something pink. And Adrien never wore pink.

"Adrien, what's that you've got in your hand?"

The model looked down at his hand, not entirely surprised to find the invitation still there. "Oh, this?"

The secretary nodded softly.

"It's just an invitation…" And as he spoke the model pulled the letter closer. Deep down he knew what Natalie would ask, what she had to ask, but he didn't want her to.

"For what?"

"M-my friend's birthday party."

"Which friend?"

"Marinette Dupain Cheng."

Natalie murmured something to herself then walked over to the boy and held out a hand. "I'm sorry Adrien, but I'll need to take that from you. Your father must approve it first."

Adrien's eyes went wide. He knew she would have to do this, but still, his father wouldn't approve. If it was something he truly wanted to do, well, there was no way his father would let him have fun…

Natalie continued holding out her hand with a stone hard face, but inside she was screaming. It was part of her job to make up the model's schedule, but she had been pretty lax lately and Gabriel had certainly let her know that she was being soft. She knew there was no way the businessman would approve of what he thought was a 'silly, pointless birthday party', but she would do her best to convince him anyway.

It took a few seconds, but eventually the teenager sighed and gave in. He set the open letter in her palm and looked away, his face sullen and full of remorse. It broke the secretary's heart, but she took the letter anyway and placed it neatly in her jacket pocket. She abruptly turned to leave but Adrien's voice stopped her, if only for a second.

"Could I have the letter back when you're done? Even if he says no, I'd like to keep it…"

Natalie turned her head ever so slightly to look at the boy. "Of course Adrien." _It's the least I can do…_

Adrien was racing through the empty halls, making his way to the waiting classroom. Just thinking about how Marinette would be right behind him made him blush, even if she had been there all year. He just couldn't stop thinking about the girl. Well, it was either that or the party. But thinking about the party always brought his thoughts back to her.

He still couldn't decide what to get for her. A tiny little scarf just didn't seem right. And what about the cake? He was supposed to make a cake for her, but how? He had only ever learned how to make chocolate cake. He really needed to look into that…

Too soon the model found himself in front of the classroom door. Through the small window, he could see their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Bustier, speaking to the class from the front of the room. The rest of the class was seated and most of them were paying attention to the teacher, and not the door. Slowly, very slowly, he opened the door, crouching down as he slipped in. No one really noticed, except Nino, who looked delighted that his best friend had finally showed up.

Adrien slid into his seat like a snake and he heard a soft giggle from behind him that made his heart soar. Mrs. Bustier kept talking, but she looked Adrien's way and scribbled something down on her clipboard. At the same time Nino nudged the model's shoulder, giving him a questioning look.

"Yo, bro why so late?"

"Didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I had a lot of homework." The dj raised his eyebrows in confusion, but seeing as he got no further explanation, he turned his attention back to the class.

As soon as Nino turned away, Adrien let his thoughts wander once more. Marinette's birthday was a week away. He needed to figure out a present now or else he would procrastinate and probably never get it done. Even if there was no way for him to make it to the party, Adrien was determined to get her a present one way or another. His scarf idea kept popping up in his head, but it just didn't' feel quite right. It needed something more… Something…. Puns. There needed to be puns involved, he was sure about that. But how would he even-oh. Ohhh.

Adrian's mind suddenly went to work. His idea blossomed into reality, the gears in his head suddenly realizing how he could incorporate this project with another he had been working on. It was so clear, so wonderful. All he need was one good pun. One pun, maybe more, and a question...

"Pppchhaahahaha!" Adrien clamped his mouth shut. He hadn't meant to laugh out loud like that, but it was too late now. His hand flew to his face to calm the giggles escaping his mouth, but it only muffled his quiet laughter. The whole class was looking his way now and Adrien felt his face go beat red. He let his head rest face down on the desk and it wasn't long before Mrs. Bustier began teaching again. His laughs were silent now and he could feel Nino's concerned gaze on the back of his head. Possibly Marinette's too.

He couldn't help but let a small sigh escape his lips as well. It wasn't his fault he was so punny…

"Pppsssst, Adrien what's up with you today? You seem kinda out of it…"

Adrien turned his head to face his friend with a large grin on his face. His wonderful present idea has put him in a pretty punny mood. "What are _mew_ talking about Nino? I'm _feline_ great."

Nino reeled back at the sudden blast of puns. He looked slightly horrified at the awful play on words. "Bro, what's gotten into you? Puns aren't your thing, right?"

"Nino, puns have always been _meow_ thing."

"Dude stop."

"Nev _furrr_ …"

And yet again Adrien had to quell his laughter at the sight of Nino's contorted face. Somehow, the dj looked even more betrayed and appalled than he had at the first set of puns. The model quickly turned his head to face the desk once more and laughed quietly into his arms. It felt so natural, twisting words to make puns. But Nino was right, Adrien didn't make puns. Cat Noir did… He might need to take it easy for a while.

The boy then lifted his head slightly to start paying attention to the class. Now that he had Mari's present figured out in his head, he might as well get something out of the school day. Even if it was boring Physics, or Math, or-wait what class was he even in?

Adrien jumped as the loud school bell broke him out of his daze. He was still in his first class of the day, but it felt like he'd already been through a whole school day. A very boring one at that. After attempting to pay attention to Mrs. Bustier, the model had given up and had been brainstorming ideas for Marinette's birthday cake. He had settled on one of two options: a regular chocolate cake with pink frosting, or...something new… His second option was very vague, but that was because he wanted to find out Marinette's favorite flavor of cake. If it wasn't chocolate, he might try it out. Hopefully making different cakes wasn't much harder than chocolate cake…

"Hey Aaadrikiiiins!" _No. Please, not her._ "What was all that giggling about earlier? Oh, let me guess, you were thinking about _me_ , weren't you?"

"Hey Chloe, and umm, not quite…"

"Ohohhohho, who am I kidding, why wouldn't I be on your mind?"

 _Ugggghhh._ Adrien was pretty sick of Chloe by now. Both of their current conversation, and just in general. He needed some way out of this; talking with Chloe too much would just ruin his good mood. Aha! Off to the side he saw a blueish-black haired girl making a slow exit from the room in order to make it to her next class. He briskly stepped her way and reached for her wrist, a small grin spreading across his face.

"Actually, I was thinking about Marinette."

"M-m-marinette?! Why _her_?"

"Uhhh, well I was thinking about how fun our fencing practices are-"

"WHAT?! SINCE WHEN DID YOU TWO FENCE TOGETHER?!"

"I've been teaching Mari for a few weeks now." _Okay now's your chance, just take it!_ "Umm...uhhh, sorry Chloe. I would love to talk, but I think both Mari and I need to make it to our next class, don't we _sweetie_?" Adrien turned his head victoriously to find a very shocked Marinette. Her face was priceless, much like Nino's from earlier, except hers was much cuter. Of to the side he noticed Alya with her mouth wide open and her eyes aglow with mischief. That probably wasn't good, but at the moment Adrien was more worried about Chloe.

He noticed a soft nod from the paralyzed girl at his arm and smiled brightly as he looked back to his 'friend'. "Well looks like we gotta go, see ya Chloe."

The model quickly turned his head and picked up his bag as he walked toward the door to avoid Chloe's imminent retort. The girl started saying something, but he and Mari were already out the door before she could say a single word. The designer still seemed to be in shock from the whole ordeal so Adrien made sure to hold her hand tightly; he hoped it was reassuring and not disrespectful. But little did he know that it was neither.

Marinette didn't really know what it was, but having Adrien's hand in hers made her absolutely speechless. It felt as if she had just gone back in time, back to the time when she couldn't even speak to Adrien without freaking out. It was just so surreal...He was holding her hand! Adrien, her most bestest friend was holding her hand. They probably looked like a couple! _AHhhhhhhhhh…._ The girl couldn't help but scream internally at their situation. Even if she'd been comfortable around him for a few weeks, physical contact with his hand in front of the entire class made her reset.

The two walked hand in hand to their next class, and Marinette hardly even realized when the boy reached for her hand as they walked to their following class once second period was over. He was even holding her hand while they walked to the bakery after school! The girl was squealing so much inside, she didn't know how she could make it through work without fainting.

But make it through she did. Somehow, the designer was able to function like a proper human being until Adrien left for home after work. It wasn't until the girl had made it to her bedroom after dinner that she was able to freak out about her whole day.

"Tikki tikKI TIKKI!"

The aforementioned kwami spiraled out of a nearby corner, whizzing through the air to reach her miraculous holder. "What is it Mari? Is it an akuma?!"

The designer giggled at that. "No no no. It's Adrien!" The girl couldn't help but continue to laugh to herself as she climbed up the ladder to her bed, slumping into the mess of pillows and blankets.

"Marinette, I thought you had you and Adrien figured out already…"

"Me too! But then, he held my hand! My hand Tikki! And not just for a minute or two, he was holding it like all day! He just reached for my hand when we walked to classes, and he was smiling too! It was so cute Tikki! I'm just so happy!"

The kwami zipped over to the designer and landed softly on a pillow by the girl's head. "Hehe! Well then, it's a good thing no one gets akumized for being too happy."

"Ha, I'd be in lots of trouble then. Ummmm... Tikki, can I ask you something?"

The wide eyed kwami smiled in response and gently nodded her head.

"D-do you think Adrien likes me. Like really really likes me. Not just as a friend, but like, umm, you know...a lo-love-like type thing…"

Tikki stared at the girl in disbelief, but also in understanding. This was just your typical Marinette. That didn't mean it wasn't funny though.

"HehehehAHAHAHAHH! MARINETTE! What do you think? Of courSE HE LIKES YOU!"

Plagg was bored. Very bored and very tired. Just like he always was… It didn't help that Adrien had only left the kwami with a measly, single slice of cheese. And it wasn't even camembert! What an outrage!

But at the moment, the prospect of having camembert brought directly to the kwami was extremely slim. Adrien was somewhat...distracted to say the least. What he was up to, Plagg had no idea. The kwami had been sitting contently in his knocked-down trash can, quietly nibbling at his tiny cheese rations. He watched the model zip in and out of the room. Sometimes he came back with cookbooks, other times, sewing manuals. He held large bags of flour atop his shoulders, at the same time carrying layers of expensive fabric draped across his arms. This time the kid came back carrying what seemed to be a box full of cake decorating equipment.

"Hey Adrie-" _Nope. There he goes, What's next? A microwave? An oven? Ha, even Adrien wouldn't go dragging an oven into his bedroo...oh. Nevermind, apparently Adrien was doing just that. Adrien Agreste, shoving a full sized oven into his room…but why?_ Well, if this wasn't going to catch the kwami's attention, then nothing would.

Plagg gently set down the last of his cheddar cheese morsels ( _blech_ ) and flew swiftly to the struggling boy.

"Hey kid, what's with the oven? You join the Girl Scouts or something?"

Sadly, the boy was so consumed in his work that he was only able to spout out a few words. "Cake. Mari. One week. Present, now."

"Wait wait wait, are you talking about Ladybug? Man I knew you liked her, but this is really _pushing_ it…"

"No Plagg you don't understand-wait was that a pun?"

"No, no, I get it! It's just, uggghh. Humans are just too needlessly complicated, get her flowers or something I mean seriously-"

"But that's not enough! Marinette's already done so much for me. It feels like I just can't do enough to repay her…"

"Really? Adrien, man...you went and worked in a bakery for her. And for free! Come on kid-"

"Plarrhghghghgrhfhjkdfghs no. She just, well, Mari deservers more than just a few flowers. She's the most amazing person i've ever met, and this needs to be perfect. She does so much for everyone else, so I might as well try to do something amazing for her."

Plagg sat, or rather hovered, in silence for a few seconds, Clearly, the boy wasn't going to let it go. He totally loved this girl, and he was going to do everything he could to make her happy. It was actually pretty admirable. Pretty sweet of the kid really. Then Plagg noticed some writing on a desk to the side, making the whole ordeal a lot less cute and a lot more funny.

"I thought you said you were doing something nice for her…"

"W-what? Of course I am."

"Then why does that paper titled 'Present Ideas' say '...return to Bugaboo'-"

And then Plagg found himself on the floor, with a very angry and brightly blushing Adrien in his face.

"Woah there kiddo, she's gonna love it. You know how much she just loves your puns- oOMPH."


	3. Chapter 3

**[Look it's chapter 3, stay tuned for chapter 4, and thank you all for being so patient! Hopefully things will get more exciting after this :)]**

Chapter 3

"ADRIEN AGRESTE! WHERE IS THE OV...en…"

"Waahh?" The model blinked his eyes wearily. As his mind adjusted to being conscious once more, the boy used his tired arms to prop himself up and look around. He was very sure he had heard his father's voice yelling... Something about an oven perhaps? But his father never came into his room. He hardly even spoke to the boy, so why would he-oh… The oven. Apparently his father actually ate real food and thus needed the oven. Adrien had just assumed his dad lived off of the tears of abused children or something. (Probably those of his own child to be completely honest).

"Adrien!" _Oh crap…_ The boy turned his head around and finally spotted the source of the yelling. "Why. Is there. An oven. In your bedroom? And why. Pray tell. Is there an oven. Missing! In the kitchen?"

"Umm, well dad…. You see-"

"Adrien!"

"I-it's the same oven father! I-i moved it...last night."

The businessman's face, usually void of emotion, spoke for itself. But apparently, that wasn't enough to convey the man's rage. "Why would you do this Adrien? What would cause you to take the oven from our gourmet kitchen, and bring it into your lowly bedroom?"

"Umm, it's kinda complicated…" Adrien looked away, hoping to please his father without a full explanation. But sadly, this was not the case. Mr. Agreste stood unmoving, waiting somewhat patiently for the terrified boy to explain. Clearly, he wanted the whole answer.

"Okay… Well it's-a friend of mine-it's her birthday soon. A-and her parents wanted me to ummm, bake her a birthday cake. I, uhh, I said yes. But I didn't know what kind to make, and stuff, so...I thought it might be...fun, to uhh try out some recipes in my room, and stuff…."

The silence that followed was unbearable. Adrien sat in unease, playing with the edge of his blanket, while his father stood quietly, processing their ludicrous situation.

"You are not going to that party Adrien. That is final."

The boy opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it at the last second. His father had made up his mind, there was no convincing him now. But it was still so infuriating! Adrien just couldn't stand his father right now! What was wrong with going to a birthday party? Why was he never allowed to have any fun?...

Adrien sighed quietly to calm himself as he glared at the back of his father's awfully groomed head. The man was about to leave, but Adrien just couldn't take it anymore. He didn't-no, he couldn't-let his father walk all over him anymore. _Screw this, screw everything!_ Gabriel needed to be told no for once!

"No." The man turned, expression blooming on his face once more. Adrien knew, _he knew_ it would have been so much easier for everyone if he had just kept his mouth shut. He could still go back, there was still time...but no. He was sick and tired of his father. He loved the man, of course he did. But Adrien still didn't know if his father had an ounce of love _in him_. He really doubted it… And now, the model just couldn't take it anymore.

"I said it was final Adrie-"

"NO! What in the whole wide world is wrong with me going to a birthday party?! What is wrong with me having friends?! With just being a normal boy?! Why is it that I am never allowed to have any fun?! Why dad? Just...why?"

Adrien stared woefully at his father, feeling the soft splash of tears he didn't know were there, raining softly off his cheeks. His father had turned away again, and Adrien fully expected an even louder and angrier retort than before. But none came… The man spoke softly, quiet enough that later on, Adrien would question what he had even heard. But one thing was for sure. He would always remember it.

"Because it's harder to lose something you have, than to have never received it at all…"

Adrien blinked. Somehow, his father's voice sounded genuine for once, like an actual human being. It was so strange, but not completely unfamiliar. Adrien was so used to the lack of emotion and caring in his father's voice, that the sudden change made him pause. And suddenly he knew exactly what his father was referring to.

"But dad...isn't it lonelier to never gain those memories in the first place?"

The model watched as his father turned his head, a small glint of remorse in his usually unfeeling eyes. And then he was gone. The stone cold man had let his feelings loose… Adrien knew this meant their discussion was over. His father's decision was final.

Adrien felt as if he'd been run over by a train. Twice. His conversation with his father that morning was still centered at the back of his mind. It had been a while since he'd seen his dad lash out like that. But, to be fair, it had been just as long since he had fought back. It was probably a good thing that the man left when he did. Cause in that moment, Adrien had been about to really unleash all that bottled up anger. Which, in hindsight, would have not been a very good idea.

But still, it would have felt pretty good.

Adrien softly shook his head to clear his mind. The boy would rather not be all gloomy at school that day. Especially in front of his best friend Nino. Speaking of which, the DJ seemed to be walking to school just then. The model tried waving to his friend as he passed him in his limo, but Nino had his head down and headphones on. Probably looking at one of the many playlists he listened to daily. Too distracted to notice his friend for the time being...

"Hey Gorilla! Could you drop me off here today? I wanna walk with my friend if that's alright."

The man looked out the window and spotted the the DJ slowly getting smaller as they drove on. He grunted acknowledgingly and gracefully swerved the limo to park by the curb. Adrien watched as the DJ's face lit up from a few hundred feet behind him. The model couldn't help smiling a bit himself.

"Thank you so much Gorilla! See you later!" The man grunted again in response and promptly left to return to the mansion again once Adrien had exited the vehicle.

And not two seconds later, the young model was greeted by his music-loving friend.

"Yo Adrien, what's up?"

"The sky." The DJ stopped and glared woefully at his friend as if to say 'Adrien no…' or something of the sort. But he quickly began walking again after a bit of encouragement and apologies from his pun-filled friend.

"Okay bro really. How's it going?"

"It's good...I guess…"

Nino rolled his eyes and began to slow down a bit as Adrien tried to speed up. "Adrien, come on. Something's up, it's obvious. You can totally talk to me 'bout it."

"But Niiinooo-"

"No buts. Just talk bro, it'll help."

The model sighed. "It's just my dad. He's being a jerk again is all…"

"Dude, do you need me to go beat him up or something? Cause I can totally do that."

Adrien chuckled a bit to himself as he walked. "No, no. Thanks for the offer, but it would probably only make things worse."

"Okay then. But just so you know, I'm always free for beating up horrible parents."

"Thanks man. I'll keep that in mind."

Adrien sighed internally at what seemed the end of their conversation. He really didn't doubt that Nino would beat up his dad. He wouldn't hesitate... But maybe, just maybe. that would be a good thing-wwwaaah noooo. What was he thinking?! No, no, no. He couldn't do that, he would be so screwed.

"So...you're going to Mari's birthday party right?"

 _Crapppp._ His only weakness: birthday parties he wasn't allowed to go to. "Oh, I don't really know yet…"

"Wait wait wait, is this what's bugging you? Your dad have something to do with you not going to Marinette's b-day party?"

Adrien bit his lip and looked away for a second, but his sad attempt at evading the question was in vain. "Umm, yeah. That's pretty much exactly what happened. More or less…"

The model jumped as he felt something grab his arm and started dragging him backwards. "N-nino!"

"Let's go deal with that awful excuse for a father already. You are going to that party Adrien. And you're gonna go have fun like a normal teenage boy. Even if I have to drag you out of your room while fighting off your dad with a samurai sword."

"Nino I-wait what? Samurai sword?"

"Come on man, samurai swords are cool. Or would you rather I beat your old man with a cinnamon roll?"

"PPPHHH NINO NO!"

"But wait, just imagine it. Your dad sitting maniacally in his office, when out of nowhere comes a cinnamon roll. Then two, three, and before long the man's been covered in pure cinnamony goodness. He can't see a thing, only cinnamon rolls. And then he'll blink his eyes as a speck of light shines through, only for him to see the face of Nino before he meets his cinnamony demise…"

"Nino if that wasn't so crazy I might just have you do it."

The DJ grinned wickedly and set his hand on his friend's shoulder. "But seriously bro, you are coming right?"

And yet again the conversation was about him again. Adrien finally decided to give in. He might as well be completely honest with Nino. He really deserved after all he'd put him through. "I want to, I mean I really want to. But my dad is _really_ against it for some reason."

"Okay, okay. Real quick before we get to class; I have a solution for you."

"And that solution is?"

"Sneak out. Durr. You can totally pull it off. And I can help too, with cinnamon rolls."

Home sweet home. Or at the very least mansion sweet mansion. Wasn't actually much of a 'home' now that Adrien thought about it. Coming back to the dark, empty halls of his house just dragged all that negative energy to his very soul. Especially the negative energy from his talk that morning. Still couldn't get that out of his head. But Nino's lecture had certainly helped. Adrien had thought that once he and Nino made it to class, the talk of sneaking out to go to a birthday party would stop. But no. That was only the beginning.

Throughout the rest of the day Nino had been planning exactly how to get Adrien out of his house and safely to the bakery without anyone at the mansion finding out about it. Adrien had of course insisted that they needn't worry about that now, seeing as they still had about a week till the actual party. And though he wouldn't say it, sneaking out would be a piece of cake seeing as he was one of Paris's most valued superheroes. Well, he was one out of their only two superheroes, but that really wasn't all that important.

Once Adrien made it too his room he looked around to find that the oven had disappeared. Just like he'd expected. He sighed. It was a shame too, because Adrien had just discovered how to make cheesecake. The recipe he had found looked absolutely delicious and he had been just about to try it out before he fell asleep the night before. Eh, he'd figure something out eventually.

And that was when a spot of pink caught his eye. Adrien had just set his bookbag on his waiting bed when he noticed a pink piece of paper on a nearby desk. After walking over to the desk, the model picked up the paper with a smile on his face. It was his invitation. Nathalie had gotten it back for him. _Thank you Nathalie. Thank you so much._ The teen opened it up once again and stepped back as a yellow sticky note fell to the ground. _More like an unsticky note._ He thought. _No, no, that was awful._

Shrugging the bad pun off, Adrien picked up the note and read it quietly to himself.

"I'm sorry to inform you that the security system is having some 'technical difficulties' and we have found the need to turn it off for the time being. Unfortunately, it will not be up for at least another week, and we advise you to be cautious in your escapades around the mansion. Nat."

Well then. Not only did Nino want him sneaking out, but so did Natalie. Man this was going to be easier than he thought.

But right now, he had cakes to bake. And it looked like the only place he could do that, was at the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Meanwhile, Alya and Marinette were 'working on homework' at the Cesaire household...

Marinette had her pencil in her mouth as she racked her brain for the answer to their next math problem. Or at least how to do the problem. That would be pretty helpful… But to Marinette's disappointment, math was the last thing on the blogger's mind.

"So Mari, you and Adrien going steady yet?"

Marinette nearly choked on her pencil. "N-no! What makes you say that?!"

"Oh, where do I begin…" Before the blogger could say another word, the designer clamped her hands on the girl's mouth, muffling anything she might say.

"How about we talk about something else? Like, your blog. How's that going?"

"Slow, just like you and Adrien. He seriously hasn't asked you out yet?"

 _No no no shhhhh._ "Alya!"

"Come on girl, you guys are practically dating already! Now spill it!"

"B-but there's nothing to spill-"

"Of course there is. What about any kissing? You been smooching lil' Adrien lately?"

It would be an understatement to say that Marinette could feel her face turn red. And even more so to say she was very, very embarrassed. "ALYA!"

"Oh, do I hear a yes?"

"NO! THAT WAS NOT A YES! THAT WAS A 'STOP ALYA. TOO FAR!'"

"Okay, okay. You're right, I went to far. I'll stop now. Still got my answer though. Booyah!"

"What was that?"

"N-nothing. Just my...stomach! Getting pretty hungry I guess."

"Oh, do you guys have anything to eat around here then?"

"Ummmm ye-" Just then, Alya looked down at her buzzing phone. She watched as a brightly colored notification popped up, titled with the name 'Mari's future husband' in big, bold lettering. "No, I don't think we do. How about we go to your house. I'm sure we'll find 'something' there."

"Uhh, you sure there's nothing here?"

"No. Not unless you wanna round up some little sisters of mine."

"Okay, okay. We can go to my house."

"Sweet." Alya grinned as she jumped off the bed. She then guided Marinette out of the room with an unusually joyful attitude, all the while keeping her phone out of sight.

Marinette was slightly confused at the sudden change in attitude, but at the moment she was only concerned about food. She never even noticed the text Adrien sent to Alya's phone. And she certainly didn't know what chaos was taking place at her flour-filled home.

"TOOOOM! I THINK I USED TOO MUCH FLOUR!" _Yeah...Too much flour was definitely an understatement..._

The model nearly jumped as the baker responded almost instantly. "TOO MUCH FLOUR! THERE'S NO SUCH THING!"

Adrien cringed slightly as he heard loud footsteps ascending from below. He probably shouldn't have yelled for help, but it was too late now. To be honest, Tom would probably get a laugh out of it. He would help clean up too, that was just the kind of guy he was. And Adrien would probably need the help too. Adrien had no idea when Marinette would get home. And he certainly didn't want her seeing the mess he'd made in her family's kitchen. She'd seen enough of that when her parents were gone...

Thinking back to the end of school earlier that day, Adrien vaguely remembered Alya and Marinette agreeing to work on math homework at the blogger's house. They were probably still there. Maybe Alya could help him out a bit.

As the baker reached the top of the stairway and gaped at the scene before him, Adrien whipped out his phone and wrote out a quick text to Alya before slipping it back into his jeans pocket. His text read, 'No matter what, make sure Marinette doesn't come home yet. Too much flour. Thx.' It wasn't the most comprehensible text, but Alya was smart. She would figure it out. Hopefully she would follow through…

And that's when Tom's utter confusion and awe manifested itself into words. Or in this case, one word. "Wow…"

"Oh, yeah… Sorry about the mess Tom, I'll clean it up."

Tom stuck his hands out and shook his head frantically. "No, no, no. Adrien, this is art. Don't move!"

"W-why?"

"Shhhh! Stay there." Adrien raised an eyebrow in question, but stood still as Mr. Dupain Cheng tiptoed through the floury mess. The boy craned his neck and watched as the man found the source of the flour and held it up proudly. He then walked over to the model and stuck the flour bag on his head, as if to create a hat or something. Adrien laughed a bit but the baker gave no explanation. He stepped back and framed the scene with his hands while shutting one eye and sticking his tongue out. It looked so ridiculous that Adrien wasn't sure he could hold a straight face for long.

But the man seemed to be pleased with his work, so he pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures before Adrien realized what was going on.

"Smile!"

The instant he heard that dreaded word, Adrien's model instincts kicked in and he smiled like he'd been trained to. Only to stop and wave his hands in front of the camera as he realized how crazy he must look. Covered in flour, a flour hat and a half baked cake to the side. And now Tom had _photos_.

"Why are you taking pictures? This is a disaster!"

"HA! You bet it's a disaster. I think it's the best disaster yet!"

"W-what?"

"You know, being a baker doesn't mean you always get things right. Sabine and I have had our own share of mishaps in the kitchen. Marinette too. Fires in the oven, flour fights, too much baking powder-the list goes on! I just thought I'd add this to our list. By the way, what type of cake were you making again?"

"Cheesecake?"

"ADRIEN! HAha! This is even better than I thought it'd be. You don't use flour in cheesecake."

"B-but it's a cake. I thought all cakes use flour. You told me that!"

"Ha, I said _most_ cakes. It might be fun to try out sometime though. Come on, I'll help you clean up."

It didn't take long for the two to finally clean up the mess. Though the flour was everywhere, it cleaned up easily enough. After wiping the counters and floor clean, Adrien played with the recipe a bit more (with help from Tom) and got the cake in the oven. Once everything was figured out, Adrien slumped to the floor alongside Tom who offered him his hand in a celebratory 'knuckles'.

"You gonna keep that hat kiddo?"

Adrien looked up smugly at the bag of flour on his head. "Oh yeah. This hat just screams Adrien. It's totally my thing."

From across the room, Adrien heard a click as the door opened. He smiled and opened his mouth to greet their new arrival, expecting to see Sabine stepping through the door, but it wasn't Sabine. It was Marinette. Alya had failed. Either that or she had purposefully sabotaged him. Probably the latter.

In the instant that the designer spotted him, she smiled and waved his way, a slight look of confusion appearing as she noticed the bag of flour on his head. "Hey Adrien. I like your...hat."

As Alya followed in behind the designer, Adrien couldn't do anything but smile and blush with a small "Thanks" escaping his mouth.

Tom waved to his daughter cheerfully, and as she smiled back, Marinette started dragging Alya toward her bedroom.

"Hey Alya, I'll grab some food, you wait upstairs okay?"

"Alrighty then." As the girl left, Adrien was the only one to notice her making kissy faces in his direction. It didn't exactly help his blushing…

Marinette then walked toward the fridge and grabbed a loaf of bread and a block of cheese to take with her. As she closed the door, she turned to her smiling father. "Hope you won't miss the bread dad, you might get some back if dinner's ready before Alya and I eat it all up."

"You got it Mari." Marinette turned to follow Alya up the staircase to her bedroom, but turned for a second before she did so. She smiled and waved cutely at Adrien before rushing up the stairs with the goofiest grin on her face.

Adrien sighed. Whatever she did was cute. Whether she be racing across the rooftops of Paris, or giving him the sweetest smile, she was amazing.


	4. Chapter 4

**[Oh look i did it and it's only been a week, phew. Anywho here u are, chapter 4, next chapter might be the last one :)]**

Chapter 4

Marinette was about to explode. The girl was so darn happy and excited that she really wouldn't be surprised if she did blow up. Because it was a good day, no, a great day! In fact, it was the best day of the year! Her birthday! Cause really, what day was better than your birthday? Well, maybe Adrien's birthday in her case. Or possibly a wedding day? But that was a long ways away.

Her birthday had just come so quickly that Marinette hadn't had time to freak out beforehand. So she was going to be freaking out NOW. There was no stopping it any longer. But it being her birthday wasn't the only thing that had her freaking out. Well, it still had to do with her birthday, but this one happened to be her first birthday since meeting Adrien. Her first birthday as Ladybug, and quite possibly her greatest birthday ever.

The girl almost couldn't calm her excitement.

But still, she had to. She was in class right now for goodness sake! She had to pay attention, but just a bit… Aaghhhh but it was so hard! It was her birthday! It didn't matter that this conversation had been going through her had since she woke up that morning, because this was her special day.

Okay okay, school. Time to learn. No more daydreaming...wait a sec…

Mari had just looked up, expecting to see their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Bustier. But instead, Ms. Mendeleiev was walking into the room. The girl blinked her eyes and turned to her best friend.

"Hey Alya, what class are we in?"

"We're in Physics girl. We just walked here from Math like two minutes ago."

"Okay, thanks..." Strangely, Marinette did not remember that. Oh wait, she did. Adrien had been holding her hand. Again. She didn't always remember what was going on when he grabbed her hand. That's probably what happened. Maybe...

"H-hey Marinette?" The designer mentally shook herself awake and turned to find who had been talking to her. She looked up curiously to find a red haired classmate of hers smiling timidly at her with a piece of paper in his hand.

Mari immediately stood to greet him and smiled happily as she spoke.

"Hey Nathanael. How are you?"

The simple gesture of smiling worked wonders on the boy, and had the artist grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh I-i'm good. What about you?"

"I'm doing great! Today's been really awesome so far!" _Even if I haven't remembered half of it…_

"C-cool! That's great. I-it's your birthday today right?"

"Yup!"

"Sweet! I uhh, drew you something. You know, for your birthday. I hope you like it." As the boy spoke, he turned the paper in his hands over to reveal a beautifully drawn sketch of the girl currently being presented to.

Marinette gasped and held her hand to her mouth. Unlike most of Nathanael's drawings she'd seen in class, this one was fully colored with just the right amount of shading and contrast. The lines looked to be perfectly drawn with the bright colors popping off the page. It was a mix of cuteness and beauty, painted on the page by a master.

"Nathanael that's amazing! You drew that?! For me?"

The artist bowed his head shyly. "Y-yeah. It's yours to keep, if you want it…"

Open mouthed, Marinette reached out and tentatively took the paper from him. She held it gently, as if she could break it if she were to hold on any tighter. The lines and colors looked just as bright and smooth, but at closer inspection, she could see signs of small marks here and there that Nathanael had easily covered up. Just a small sign that thought the boy was extremely talented, he wasn't perfect. But no one was. And as an artist herself, Marinette knew this piece was expertly done.

With a giddy smile on her face, Marinette set the drawing carefully on her desk and stood tall to face Nathanael once more. She was smiling from ear to ear while on the verge of giddy laughter. Nathanael was just so sweet, he always was. But this was amazing, and he really deserved so much more.

"Oh my gosh Nathanael I love it! You're so sweet! How can I ever repay you?" Midsentence, Marinette had thrown the boy into a large bear hug. Well, as large as she could give considering she was pretty small. But so was Nathanael…

The hug surprised the artist for no more than a second or two, but he was stunned nonetheless. As soon as he could gather his bearings once more, Nathanael put his arms around the sweet girl he so adored and smiled softly with his eyes shut tight. He made the mistake of opening them for a second to find himself staring into a pair of deep, green eyes placed at the doorway.

Adrien Agreste stood stiffly as he watched his self proclaimed crush hugging another guy. He didn't realise it, but the model was nearly glaring at the artist. The boy looked taken aback at the look and slightly frightened as well.

Adrien shook his head and looked away. Marinette could hug who she wanted, it was fine. Completely fine… To avoid further internal screamings, he proceeded to head straight for his seat. The seat that was directly in front of the hugging 'friends'. He tried not to look over his shoulder, but Nino, who had come in right after him, kept giving the model questioning looks and a few eyebrow wiggles for good measure, all while leaning his head Mari's way.

Adrien promptly ignored these 'eyebrow wiggles'. Nino was just being ridiculous. It wasn't as if he was jealous or anything. He'd gotten hugs from Mari before. Nathanael deserved one too. He was a great guy, right? Yeah, but not too great. Oh gosh maybe he really was jealous. What if he turned around just for a second-oh wow. They actually looked pretty cute together...

But all he could do was watch in vain as the two swayed from side to side for a few seconds before both unconsciously realizing they needed to let go.

In unison, the two broke apart the hug with sweet smiles spreading across their faces and arms dropping to their sides. Adrien was relieved to say the least, but before he knew it, Nathanael was speaking, so he turned back and forced his gaze onto the desk.

"I-i'm really glad you like it Marinette! But you don't need to do anything for me. It's your birthday, just have fun."

The recipient giggled gleefully. "Okay, okay. But really. Thanks. It means a lot."

Just then, a loud tapping noise became present from the front of the room.

"Time to get started class! Get to your seats! Quickly now."

Nathanael frowned a bit at the interruption, but smiled nonetheless. He waved her way before walking back to his seat. "See you Mari."

"See you later Nathanael!" The designer gave a much too giddy wave to her friend before turning around to plop into her empty chair. She made sure to put the drawing away in a safe place after admiring it for a few more seconds.

"Man girl. You're getting all the guys nowadays. Leave some for the rest of us."

Marinette sat straight up and turned to face her obnoxious friend. "What? No, Nathanael's just a good friend."

Alya smirked and wiggled her eyebrows mischievously. "And what about Adrien, huh?"

"Adrien's just a _really_ good friend." _For now_ …

"Oh, okay. If you say sooo-"

"Alya, Marinette. Pay attention."

At the sound of their teacher's voice the two turned to face the front once more and did their best to appear attentive and ready to learn.

Marinette looked down at the table for a second at the sound of rustling paper and saw a small note on her worksheet. Probably from Alya. But just in case, she quickly skimmed it. ' _Talk later, *kissy kissy?*_ ' Okay, that was definitely from Alya.

Meanwhile, Adrien was still fuming internally about his self-proclaimed, unannounced rivalry. Nathanael had drawn her a picture for goodness sake! And from what he'd seen, it was really, really good. Just...ugggghhhh. How was he going to top that?!

Well, there was one way he could top it. He would just have to make the best birthday cake ever. But right now, there was something else he needed to take care of first.

While planning the party, Tom and Sabine had asked Nino, Alya, and himself to pass out invitations to their classmates without Marinette finding out about it. A week ago, the three had split the invitations up and decided to deliver them throughout the week. For the most part, handing out invitations had been pretty easy, but now he had one left. One left, for Chloe Bourgeois. He had no idea why, but for some reason, Marinette had a list of people she wanted to come to a party she was going to plan later that month. Sabine had gotten ahold of it for the surprise party, and Chloe's name was on there.

Adrien had seen how much the two fought, and he just couldn't see why Marinette would want the girl at her own birthday party. But Marinette was who she was. She was too sweet, too kind. Of course she would invite Chloe. The girl couldn't stand for anyone to be forgotten, even Chloe. And lucky him, he got Chloe's card. Adrien had been purposefully putting it off, he just didn't want to deal with it. He didn't want to see Chloe swat away the card and storm off to go crash the party or something. But if Marinette wanted it, then he would do it. Even if it was last minute.

With the ring of a bell, the school day ended. Kids all around him started packing up and rushing out the door to get home. He turned around and exchanged a few knowing looks with Alya and Nino before walking over to the fashionista. As soon as she saw him coming her way, her eyes lit up and she rushed over to pull the boy into a crushing hug.

"Adrikins! I haven't talked to you in ages! Wh-"

"Not now Chloe, I need to talk to you."

The girl looked up curiously as she let the model out of the hug. "What about?"

Instead of replying, he grabbed her wrist and began leading Chloe out into the hall as he searched for somewhere they wouldn't be overheard. Thankfully, Alya had already gotten Mari out of here. He just needed somewhere...aha!

He spotted an open door leading into an empty classroom. Students were still streaming through the halls, so he quickly pulled the girl inside and closed the door. Chloe simply crossed her arms and waiting expectantly for Adrien to speak.

"Chloe, I have something for you-"

"Oh?"

The boy shifted his weight slightly and sighed as he looked her straight in the face. "Yes, I do. But before I give it to you, I need you to promise me something."

"And what would that be?"

Again the boy sighed and pulled out the invitation from his back pocket. He held it in the air where Chloe could see it and read the elegant letters spelling out the name of the event. "This is an invitation for Marinette's surprise birthday party later today. I don't know why, but she wanted you to have it. I'll give it to you, and you're welcome to come, but only if you promise me that you won't ruin this for her. All I ask is that you be respectful to everyone there and at least try to be nice. Can you do that for me Chloe?"

The girl looked contemplative as she analyzed the situation. Then she looked up at the boy with narrowed, slightly hopeful, eyes. "Marinette wanted me to come? You're lying to make me feel better aren't you?"

"No. I'm not. She doesn't know about this party, so she was going to plan one later this month. Her mom found a list of who she wanted to come, your name was on there. I don't know why, but it was. Now can you promise me that if you come, you'll be nice, and that you won't tell her about it?"

Adrien stood with the card in his hand, waiting for an answer. It took a bit longer than expected, but then she finally spoke. "Okay Adrien. If I come I'll be nice. But only because you asked me to. Don't expect me to buy a present or anything, I won't be wasting my money on _her_."

Adrien had hoped for a nicer answer, but he assumed this was the best he could get from Chloe. He handed her the card and she took it with more eagerness than he had expected. He then walked over and opened the door, about to let her out. But Chloe was fixed in her position, reading the words on the card with such focus that she didn't notice him waiting. He smiled and let himself out while leaving the door open behind him. Maybe there was some good in Chloe. In a way, she was like him. Raised by such strict parents that they never really got to have fun. It might be good for her to go to a real birthday party then…

But little did he know, that back in the empty classroom, the girl was smiling. She was truly happy for once. She hadn't smiled like that in a long time.

As quick as he could, the model made his way outside and almost leapt into the waiting limo, wanting to get back home as quick as he could. The ride took a little while because of traffic, but they got there eventually.

That morning, Adrien had gathered everything he would need for the party and stuffed it all in a bag under his bed. Once he made it to his room after the long drive home, he went straight for the goods.

As he threw his bag from school on the bed, the model ducked down and sighed in relief when he was that the bag he had packed earlier was still there. He had nearly expected it to be gone, to have been confiscated by his father or something.

As quick as he could, Adrien dragged the bag out, placed it on his bed, and did a recount of everything he had packed that morning.

Phew, everything was still there. Now to get out. First of all, he needed to 'x' out the front door. That wouldn't work, his father would be keeping an eye on that, even if the security system was out. Now normally he would just jump out his window as Car Noir, but he couldn't go flying across the rooftops in broad daylight. Not unless there was an akuma attack. And he definitely didn't want to deal with that right now.

Nino had of course given him several more ideas of how to get out, but none of them were too feasible, and some very difficult. He didn't exactly have samurai swords or cinnamon rolls on hand…

And he was pretty sure some people would question Cat Noir skipping into a bakery in broad daylight…

But now that he thought about it, he didn't need to be Cat Noir to make it out the window. It wasn't that far, right? Well he might as well check-oh no, way to far, not happening. Wait a sec, why couldn't he be Cat Noir just to get out. He could always find an empty alleyway or somewhere else to detransform. Yeah, he could just do that.

Before anything or anyone could stop him, Adrien transformed into his alter ego, Cat Noir. Plagg was being grumbly as always, but that wouldn't stop him. The cat could hang out with Tikki while he was getting things ready for the party. Also, there was sure to be cheese at the bakery. That would shut him up for a bit.

From there, getting out was easy. It was a lot less scary to jump down from his window as Cat rather than as Adrien. Man, had his window always been so high? Nevermind that, he needed to get to the bakery.

Tom, Sabine, Alya, Nino, and himself had been planning this day for a while now. Right now, Marinette and Alya were at a movie, and they wouldn't return until the party started. So he just needed to get to the bakery, bake the cake, and help the Dupain Chengs get the party ready before the birthday girl got back. Nino was coming early to help, but not quite as early as he was.

After getting out of the house, Adrien used his baton to propel himself into the air. From there, finding an empty alleyway was easy. He may have gotten a few odd looks from people on the ground, but once he detransformed, Adrien was able to walk down the streets of Paris with nothing to worry about. The bakery wasn't too far from where he lived, so before he knew it, the model found himself standing in front of the building with a large grin plastering his face.

The bakery was open, but Adrien knew that it wouldn't be for much longer. The party didn't actually start for at least two more hours, but he figured he might as well get there as early as he could. Tom and Sabine would probably be closing up soon. He might even get some help from the kindhearted bakers later on.

With a smile on his face, Adrien skipped into the bakery and waved a cheery hello to Sabine as she took care of the last few customers of the day. She waved him toward the back and he gave her a small nod in return as he made his way to the family's personal kitchen. The familiarity with which he navigated the household made it feel like his second home. That thought made him smile even more. It was great that he was so welcome here.

When he made it to the kitchen, Adrien found everything all laid out for him. It wasn't long before he got started on the cake. Though he had tried many different cake recipes over the last week, he ended up using the same one he had made for Marinette weeks ago. Not only was it simple and easy, but it was meaningful. That cake led to him discovering just how amazing Mari was. That not only was she an amazing person, friend, and designer, but she was also his lady. And all thanks to a slice of cake. He hoped that she would be able to see his intent behind baking the same cake again.

However, there was one thing he would do differently. The decorating. Instead of a plain flowery design or something, he could write her name and do all he could to make it absolutely beautiful for the girl of his dreams.

Adrien was quick to get the cake going, but once he began, the model started to slow down. This needed to be absolutely perfect. He didn't have time for mistakes. He had thought that the mixing part of the baking process had gone by quick enough, but when he put it in the oven, he looked at his phone to find that nearly 40 minutes had passed. He didn't have much longer to decorate… Ugh, he should have given himself more time.

As soon as the cake was done, Adrien pulled it out and began to work on the frosting. He made a simple vanilla frosting and placed some in separate bowls to add food coloring to later. Once the cake had cooled down. He began frosting with a layer of vanilla, using chocolate flowers to decorate the rim touching the plate. He used a deep red color to write her name in swirling, cursive letters, and used various shades of pink to further add to the cute look of the cake. He was nearing completion when Nino came in. He commented on how well the model was doing with the cake, then proceeded to help Mr. and Mrs. Dupain Cheng with the rest of the decorations.

Before long, the other party guests started arriving. As he worked on the last finishing touches for the cake, he noticed Rose and Juleka come in, following by Kim, Max, Ivan, Mylene, and Alix. Not too long after he saw Nathanael followed by Sabrina. As the classmates started mingling, Adrien looked to the door once more to find, Chloe. She actually came. He smiled and waved to her with a frosting bag in his hand. Once she noticed him she smiled and waved back. And it wasn't one of her normal narcissistic grins either. She really looked happy to be there. He was happy for her.

At first Adrien thought she was going to head his way, but instead she walked over to the present table and set a small wrapped box on the table when she thought no one was looking. As soon as she was done with that, she did end up heading his way though. He smiled but continued to work on the cake as he did so. He was nearly done and Mari was probably going to be there soon.

"Hey Adrien, I didn't know you could bake."

On account of him being busy at the moment, Adrien was only able to give the simplest of answers. "Yeah, me neither."

"Umm, when is you-know-who going to get here?"

He assumed she meant Marinette. Looks like the girl couldn't even say her name. Oh well. "Soon, 5-10 minutes tops."

Chloe stayed quiet for a minute as he continued to work. From his peripherals, he could tell that she looked slightly downcast. He hoped this wasn't too awkward for her.

He didn't really expect her to speak, and even more so about what she would say.

"You really like her don't you?"

He stopped. Adrien knew what she had just said, but he didn't believe it. Of course he liked Mari, but this might just be Chloe finally coming to terms with that. Maybe she was starting to realize that he liked someone else more than her. And coming from Chloe, well, he had a lot more respect for her now.

"Yeah. I really do." As he looked her way he saw that she was avoiding eye contact, she looked even more down than before, but she also looked calm. She looked less tense than she normally did, and even, nice. He was really grateful to her for understanding. Maybe he was right. This party could help her. And he was very sure that she would do her best to be a bit nicer. He smiled at her and set the piping bag on the counter seeing as he had just finished. And right before she could wander off, he pulled her into a friendly hug.

"Thank you Chloe."

She hugged him back and smiled up at him when they let go. He was so happy to see Chloe like this. She looked kind and she had accepted that he loved someone else. She might not be happy about it, but his childhood friend was happy for him.

Then, out of nowhere, Nino burst into the room with a goofy grin on his face. "They're coming! Everyone hide!"

As soon as the order was given, it was quickly followed. All the kids along with Sabine and Tom crouched down in whatever hiding place they could find. Someone turned out the lights and they all waited. Not two minutes later, the door opened. In walked Alya with a grin on her face, leading the one they were all waiting for. As the blogger turned the lights on, Marinette blinked at the sudden brightness and her eyes widened as all her friends jumped out from various locations across the room.

"Surprise!"


	5. Chapter 5

**[K guys, last chapter, I'm finally done, hope i had enough fluff for you all in this sequel :)]**

Chapter 5

Marinette gasped and held her hands up to her mouth at the scene before her. She had just gotten back from seeing a wonderful movie with Alya, and now, she came home to...this. To all her friends and family jumping out to greet her on the best day of the year. She couldn't believe it.

At a quick glance, Mari could see her parents standing side by side with proud smiles on their faces, and then, Nino, with his hands spread out, seemingly presenting the entire scene to her. Next she saw Ivan and Mylene waving to her while holding hands, that made her smile for sure. Kim, Max, Rose, and Juleka were standing in a row with large grins on their faces and bright eyes expressing their happiness at being here. Alix and Nathanael were smiling as well, and Nathanael had a sketchbook in his hand which was only to be expected. Then she noticed Sabrina and Chloe. Somehow the two looked slightly less frightening and annoyed to be there than she had expected.

But that's when she noticed Adrien. He stood waving to her with a flour stained apron, trying to hide what was clearly a birthday cake with his body and failing. He looked absolutely adorable, and Marinette was very sure he had helped planned this party himself. She really wanted to run up and hug him right then, and she probably would have if it wasn't for the large group of people there watching her. And Chloe. She knew the girl liked Adrien it was obvious, she didn't want to shove her and Adrien's 'friendship' in her face.

However, the birthday girl was still elated at the surprise. She was so happy, that she hadn't realized just how much she was smiling, or how much she had been giggling. The girl needed to grab Alya for support after a few seconds. This was just _so_ great. It was awesome, it was fantastic, dare she say _cat_ astic? Oh no that was awful, but Adrien would probably love it. She now realized that everyone was wating on her. They expected her to say something so she just spurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Thank you guys so much! This is-this is amazing! I-i don't know what to say…" Instead of expecting her to speak more, Alya just threw her friend into a giant hug, which Nino was quick to join. Alya started waving for everyone to join, and before she knew it, Marinette was in the center of a giant group hug made up of all of her friends. From what she could see, it looked like even Chloe had joined in. But now, Mari was laughing so much that she was nearly crying.

"You guys are so great! But can you please let me out now? I'm kinda squished." The group chuckled quietly as they dispersed, and Mari got a few quick apologies and 'happy birthdays', but slowly, people started separating into groups. Adrien was now standing right next to her, He was smiling and still wearing the flour stained apron, which she could now see said 'Kiss the Cook' in bold, flowing lettering. And really, she wouldn't mind doing so… But then her friend began speaking.

"Happy birthday Mari! I hope you liked the surprise! We've been planning it for ages now."

"Yeah, yeah it was great! When did you guys even have time to get this all ready? And who else was planning it? All of you must have been working non stop, I just, oh you guys are so great!" Marinette couldn't contain herself anymore so she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Adrien. He chuckled quietly and hugged her back as he began answering her barrage of questions.

"I don't know how we found the time, but really, it wasn't too hard. And your parents were really the one's planning it. Nino, Alya, and I just helped with invitations and stuff."

Mari looked sneakily past Adrien's shoulder. "Well then, who was decorating that awesome cake over there? Cause it looks to me like you're the one wearing the apron here."

The model stiffened and swiftly pulled Marinette out of the hug so he could block her view of the cake. "Okay, okay, I made the cake. But no peeking! It's supposed to be a surprise!"

The designer simply giggled and held her hands up to her eyes and slowly turned around. "Go hide it then, I won't look."

Adrien grinned and spun on his heel to take his one chance at hiding the cake. He didn't get one step before the girl spoke a single, teasing word.

"Yet."

The boy smiled as he ran to the cake and put it safely in the fridge. Then, while looking at Mari with her back facing him, he had an idea.

To make sure she wouldn't hear him, Adrien tiptoed toward the waiting girl. Once he was directly behind her, he took his hands and placed them over her own to cover her eyes as he said in a sing song voice, "Guess who?"

Marinette giggled cutely and seemed to see what Adrien was getting at. "Oh, I don't know. Hmmm. Hawkmoth, is that you?"

Adrien guffawed at the ridiculous answer, and did what he could to speak in his best Hawkmoth voice. "Yes, it's me! Now give me your miraculooousss." As he finished his bad imitation of the villain, Adrien took his hands from the girl's eyes and wrapped her in yet another friendly hug. Mari held his arms in the most adorable way and Adrien couldn't help but set his head on top of her own as they rocked back and forth. Man it felt like they were a couple or something! She was just so darn cute, it was hard to not be hugging her!

A small change in atmosphere became present from behind them, and the two turned, still in their cutesy hug, at the call of their blogger friend. "Hey you two lovebirds. Get over here, Marinette needs to open her presents!"

Adrien let the girl go as she was summoned and Mari promptly told Alya that she didn't need presents. That it was enough that everyone was here.

But Alya eventually convinced her friend to sit down and open her presents so that the blogger could record that moment for later.

Adrien walked over to the group, and in only a minute, everyone was ready and excited to see Mari find what they had all brought for her.

Marinette, finally defeated in her vain attempts to not be the center of attention, began opening the presents that were passed to her by her eager friends.

Among the presents she opened were Ladybug and Cat Noir pins from Mylene and Ivan, some music albums from Nino, a new sketchbook from Nathanael, a new phone case from Alya, and a $20 dollar gift card from Chloe. The next present she reached for had the words 'From Adrien' on it and the girl turned to the boy in eager anticipation. She opened the box carefully to find a small pink scarf folded neatly in the box, with messy pink knots at the ends and several loose, fluffy threads flying out. It was clearly handmade, and she knew exactly who had made it. Marinette nearly squealed once she saw it and threw the scarf on immediately, noticing that it was very similar to the blue one she had given Adrien earlier that year.

The girl got up to give Adrien a hug, as she had been doing for all her friends, and promptly returned to her spot to begin opening the rest of her friends' gifts.

Next, she received a bag of several different kinds of nail polish from Juleka, and a bottle of sweet smelling perfume from Rose. Kim, Max and Alix had all chipped in to buy her a copy of the original Ultimate Mecha Strike video game, and Sabrina had given her a cute notebook.

She had been throwing hugs and thank yous around everywhere; and everyone, even Chloe, seemed to be in a cheerful mood. It only got better when Alya announced they had some party games that needed to be played. Marinette, along with everyone else, jumped up to enjoy all that they could that night. Adrien was by her side almost the entire time and it made Mari giddy with happiness. She didn't think there was any way for this party to get better.

Adrien was having a great time. Ever since Mari had arrived he'd been on cloud nine. She just had this unmistakeable, happy attitude about her that was really pulling this party together. She had been so kind to everyone, even Chloe. And for once, the blond haired girl had kept her promise. She hadn't uttered a single complaint or insult as far as Adrien could tell. He was very proud of her. But still, to be completely honest, Marinette had been taking up all his attention. He just wanted to spend every minute with her. Because one minute with Mari was worth an eternity of happiness. Man that night had been a blast. He still couldn't believe it was coming to an end. After all the presents and a few party games, the party turned its attention to the cake Adrien had made. That had happened about an hour ago, but Adrien still remembered it fondly.

The group had rushed over to the fridge and Adrien had to fight his way through to get the cake out. Luckily Tom was there to help him out. They brought the cake out the table and Marinette had gasped at how beautiful it was. She was constantly complimenting Adrien on how tasty it was, and how sad she was that she had to eat it and ruin the beautiful lettering and designs. The cake itself was delicious, or so everyone said. It make everyone all the more happier to sit together, eating a fabulous cake made by their kind hearted classmate.

But currently, the group had decided to watch a movie together, seeing as everyone was getting pretty tired after all that sugar.

They were still deciding which movie to watch when Adrien realized that Marinette wasn't at his side anymore. He looked around, probably a bit more frantically than was needed, and found her talking with Nathanael while he drew something in his sketchbook. Immediately, his brain went haywire. No one else was allowed to talk to Mari-oh man he needed to stop. Adrien took a few deep breaths while he mentally berated himself for being so protective. Marinette was allowed to have other friends. She could do what she wanted. It was okay. He sighed. He really needed to calm down.

And that was when he turned. Adrien was just looking around aimlessly, trying to distract himself when he saw _him_. Over by the door was Sabine, and she was _talking to him_.

No, no, no this was awful! Why was he even here?! _He never went anywhere, why was his dad here?!_ He normally just sent Nathalie; if he had come himself then he was definitely ticked at Adrien for disobeying him. Crap, crap, crap. He found out. His dad was here. He was so screwed! Oh no this was going to end badly, he hadn't even had a chance to really talk to Mari yet. He needed to do this now. He'd been putting it off all night. It was now or never.

While making sure his father hadn't seen him, Adrien ducked behind the groups of people as he made his way to Marinette. He did his best to stay hidden, and he successfully made his way to her without being seen. But it looked like his dad was about to start heading his way. He needed to act fast.

"Psst. Mari I need to talk to you." Adrien made sure to gently grab the girl's wrist to get her attention.

Marinette turned away from Nathanael's drawing (which looked more like a masterpiece) somewhat reluctantly, but turned to face Adrien anyway. Her wide blue eyes looked into his and she seemed to see the pained expression on his face, but didn't recognize it right away.

"What? Right now?"

Adrien swallowed nervously. "Yes."

Marinette nodded in partial understanding and stood to follow Adrien wherever he planned to take her. She gave a quick 'be right back' to Nathanael and the two smiled softly as he and Marinette left.

Adrien did his best to hide behind Marinette as they headed toward the staircase to Marinette's room. The girl seem somewhat amused, but let Adrien hide behind her anyway. Then Adrien realized that his father was right by the staircase. He was literally two feet away from it how was he going to sneak out?

To prevent being seen, Adrien stepped to the side, pulling Mari with him. He held her out of sight and watched as his father began to enter what was now referred to as 'the party area'. The tall businessman seemed very out of place as he searched for his son, but their other friends pretended not to notice. They would simply get out of his way as Alya and Nino tried to pull everyone together to start up a movie.

From his side, Adrien heard Mari gasp quietly at the sight of his father. She immediately quieted and grabbed his hand reassuringly. She knew something was up if Adrien's dad was here.

Once Adrien saw Gabriel turn his head to talk to Nino, he squeezed Mari's hand and began pulling her along as he raced to make it to the stairway. He made eye contact with Nino for no more than a second, but it was all the DJ needed, to know that Adrien did not want Gabriel to know he was there.

As he booked it up the stairs with Marinette on his tail, he sent a silent thank you to his loyal friend as he opened the hatch for Mari to step through with him following suit. He let go of her hand once they were safely through, the hatched being closed and locked for the time being. Marinette watched him curiously and began spurting out a series of questions that Adrien clearly didn't have time to answer.

"Adrien, why is your dad here? What was he doing? Does he know you're here? Are you in troubl-"

"I'm really sorry Mari, but...ugh. My dad's here cause I kinda came to the party after he told me not to. I thought he wouldn't find out, but he did. And now he's probably gonna force me to go home with him, but I needed to talk to you first."

"About what?"

Adrien sighed and winced when he began to hear the muffled sound of arguing voices from downstairs. "Umm, could we talk about it on your balcony, I need to grab something really quick just give me a sec."

Marinette looked toward first Adrien, then the hatch, with a worried look on her face. But after looking back to her friend, she nodded softly, still very confused, and began climbing the ladder up to her balcony.

Frantically, Adrien ran to the bag he had stashed in his friend's room earlier, and pulled out a clean, white box with pink ribbon keeping it shut. The ribbon was wrapped around all four sides of the rectangular box and ended in a simple bow on the front. The box itself was about the size of a t-shirt, and though it was very plain, and very simple, he hoped she would like the present nonetheless.

He was about to start heading upstairs when Adrien noticed two small kwamis who had fallen asleep, resting peacefully on Marinette's desk. Making sure he wouldn't wake them, Adrien picked the two kwamis up and held them gently, one in each hand. The boy walked over to a pink desk drawer nearby and placed the two inside, reminding himself to apologize later. He just couldn't risk anyone, especially his father, coming up to find two magical beings, asleep and vulnerable.

With everything else out of the way, Adrien raced up the stairway and pulled himself up the hatch to the balcony after gently throwing the white box ahead of him. After he was through, he turned to close the hatch and make sure it was shut tight. He wasn't looking forward to having his raging father get through their 'defenses'.

After he stood, the model turned to face Marinette, who was eyeing him worriedly. The box was now being held in his hand, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say, just not how to say it. Thankfully, Mari seemed to see that he was troubled, or anxious, or maybe a bit of both. She stood patiently and gave her friend an encouraging smile with a small rosey tint to her cheeks.

Then, Adrien looked up to see Mari shivering ever so slightly, and he suddenly realized how cold it was outside.

"Here, take this." As quick as he could, the model took of his white jacket and stepped forward to drape it around the girl's shoulders. She smiled gratefully and sat down on a pink deck chair and gestured for Adrien to sit next to her. The chair itself was only meant for one person, but Marinette looked very insistent, and she was holding out the jacket for the two to share. Trying not to seem too excited, nervous, or jumpy, he sat down next to her and she snuggled up next to him for warmth. Adrien could feel his heart fluttering in his chest as he tried to keep his goofy smile under control.

Marinette then turned to face him with her deep blue eyes and Adrien swallowed nervously. This was it. He really hoped it wasn't too cheesy. Man it was _definitely_ too cheesy. But it was too late now. He needed to do this. He could do it.

Taking a deep breath, he took the white box and handed it to Marinette. She let go of the jacket and let it rest on her shoulder as she gently took it with her small, delicate hands. She looked stunned and very touched at the gift, and after looking it over for a few seconds, she turned back to Adrien in confusion.

"B-but Adrien, you already got me a gift. The scarf." While she pointed at the pink scarf draped around her neck, Adrien laughed uneasily as he gave her the best answer he could at the moment.

"This is...different. The scarf was for your birthday, but this...well. Just open it, okay?"

Looking back to the box, the designer slowly pulled the ribbon off without undoing the somewhat messy bow. She set it to the side, which happened to be on Adrien's lap, and set the box on her own lap. Very carefully, the girl pulled the top of the white box off to reveal even more white. She handed the box's lid to Adrien as she peered inside. She stuck her hand in, and discovered the whiteness to be fabric. But after pulling the fabric out, she noticed that it was a plain white t-shirt. She turned it over and froze.

"Bugaboo?! You got me a t-shirt that says Bugaboo?!" Adrien couldn't help it. He turned his head to the side and began laughing into his hand as Mari stared dumbfounded at the deep red lettering spelling, you guessed it, 'Bugaboo' across the back of her new t-shirt.

Mari blinked a few times and looked to Adrien for an explanation, but through the laughter, all he was able to manage was a hand vaguely gesturing back to the box. Mari huffed and threw the t-shirt onto her friend's face, which only had him cackling even more, and turned to pick up whatever else he had placed in the box. As she took out yet another white t-shirt, which was slightly larger than the first, she spun it around and reeled back at the writing presented before her.

"If lost return to Bugaboo? What?!"

Adrien held both hands to his mouth as he tried desperately to stop laughing. This was just too good, but he knew what was coming next. He couldn't be a giggling mess when she looked back into the box.

After a minute of Marinette staring at the shirt with the funniest expression on her face, and Adrien calming himself down enough to breath properly, he placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She looked to him, very exasperated and amused from the t-shirts, but he simply gestured back to the box with a calming expression on his face. She set the shirt down and gazed back into the box for the third time that night.

Whereas she had almost screamed out at the first two surprises of the night, at this one she merely whispered. So quiet that her unbelievable words were almost lost in that cold, peaceful night.

"Will you go out with me?..."

Adrien waited in anticipation. This was it. This was what he had been preparing for for weeks. This moment was the one he both dreaded and hoped for on a daily basis. As the silence wore on, he started to doubt himself. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… Had he been too forward? Too fast? What was she thinking right now? What was her answer?!

The model finally dared to look at his love. And he was stunned to see that she had tears in her eyes. The way she was looking at him was so different, yet so familiar. It was her and...she was happy. The tears he saw slowly streaming down her cheeks were tears of joy. He dared a smile, and reached out with a timid hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She smiled back and reached up with her own hand to take his.

He stopped.

She closed her eyes.

And then, in an instant, they were open, staring into his own with such happiness and gratitude, that Adrien could hardly tell that he himself had begun to shed tears of joy.

With he, looking down into her deep eyes full of wonder and hope, and she, looking to him with amazement and adoration, the two could hardly hear the girl speak out a small, "Yes" in answer.

In a flash, the two felt the soft touch of each other's lips, their hands gently caressing the other's face. Mari sensed the strong hands of her friend as he combed them through her soft black hair, and Adrien's heart soared when he felt soft, delicate hands cupping his cheeks.

The tears continued to stream down their faces, and the kiss they shared felt completely still. The whole world seemed to have stilled, to have slowed down with each moment. From the second their lips had touched it all felt still. As if that exact moment was the one they wanted to cherish forever. They didn't want to turn this into something they would regret. It needed to be pure and simple. That was the truest love. They love they felt they could share.

And then, without warning, air rushed in to fill the gap between the two as they released their grip on that moment. But as their lips parted, their foreheads came together and they opened the eyes they hadn't known were closed. The two stared in longing and gratefulness at the sweet moment they had shared, and the moment they hoped were now sharing.

In the quiet night air, both personages thought they heard the other speak. And though neither had uttered a single word, both could understand the thought they shared of 'I love you'."

Mari smiled and tore her head away only to place it gently on her _boyfriend's_ shoulder.

Adrien sighed silently and let his head rest on top of her own. He closed his eyes again and listened to the quiet sounds of Paris in the evening. He had felt better than he had in weeks, months, maybe years. He just felt so much peace, so much hope. She had said yes! She-she really like him. And not some famous model. She loved _him_. He could see it in all that she did and every part of _her_ that he loved back. _Marinette was amazing_. She was perfect. They were _happy_.

Happy.

That's all he really needed. As long as he had his lady, and his lady had her cat, they would be happy.


	6. Epilogue

**[Okay I know I said I was done, but there were a few things I needed to clear up, so here's the 'real' ending to Birthday Cake in the form of Adrien writing in his journal, enjoy ^-^]**

Epilogue

Adrien's journal entry ###

It's been one week since Marinette's birthday and I still can't stop smiling. It was just such an awesome day! I think this might be the fourth, no scratch that, the fifth time I've written about it this week! Oh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm just so head over heels for the girl. That kiss we shared, oh wow it was magical. Nothing could make me forget that. Not even when my dad finally found me.

Now that wasn't a very pleasant experience, but Mr. and Mrs. Dupain Cheng were there to help me out. I still remember that night so clearly…

Okay so, after the kiss, Mari and I had stayed snuggled up on that bright pink deck chair and we chatted for a bit while we tried to ignore the shouting from downstairs. It was bit disheartening, hearing my dad so angry and all... We even thought about transforming and running off so we wouldn't have to face my dad. But then again, our kwami's were still in the drawer where I left them, or at least I hope they were...

Anywho, after a bit we could hear my dad getting through our first barricade. The sounds from the room below were muffled, but it was clear just how angry my dad was, and how concerned Tom and Sabine were. Now, he wasn't yelling and screaming and banging on the doors or anything, he was too 'proper' for that. It was more like a silent message of disappointment and ruefulness, melting through the walls as he called out my name accusingly and struggled to open the trap doors.

Mari was very scared for me. She kept suggesting we run, or give in and try to talk it out. She absolutely hated the idea of me getting in trouble because of her. But it wasn't her fault, she was just too stubborn to see that. But I was too stubborn to give in and end that moment with her, so I guess we were both at fault.

It wasn't long till we heard a crash and looked over to see my dad's scowling face peeking through the grate. I could tell my dad wanted to yell at me. He wanted to say how wrong it was for me to disobey him, that I would never be allowed to do anything ever again. But the Dupain Cheng's were still behind him and Mari was with me, not to mention that the rest of the party was still downstairs.

It was kinda cute how Mari clung to me right then. She was holding my arm and snuggled up much too close for my father's liking.

But instead of freaking out, my dad simply scolded me in the most respectable way possible while Mari and her parents looked on in worry. He pulled me out of the chair by my upper arm, and Mari was forced to let go of me with the saddest frown on her face. It made me want to cry...

But thankfully, I was able to stay strong for her as my dad dragged me out of the house and drove me home. The ride was completely silent. It was pretty scary. But once we got home he yelled and scolded me for nearly an hour. He kept asking me who Mari was and about my relationship with her, but there was no way I would tell him anything about that. He had barely gotten used to the idea of me being a real human being with real human friends. I couldn't tell him I had a girlfriend now. Wow. I have a girlfriend. It still seems so surreal. That just a couple months ago, we hardly knew each other. Though I do wish that hadn't been the case...

The first couple days after that my dad made me stay home. He wouldn't let me go to school or hang out with friends. I got to sit around, talk with Plagg, and talk to Mari over the phone all day. I was really hyped when he didn't find out about that last part. It was hard to stay away from her for what felt like so long. Plagg even suggested I sneak out as Cat at night and stuff. But my dad was constantly watching me, so that probably wasn't the best option.

Once I started going back to school though, things only got better. As soon as I stepped into the classroom, Mari ran up to me and threw me into that cutesy hug of hers. We then sat together in all the classes we shared, partially because Alya and Nino had decided to sit together and left us with a desk to ourselves, but mostly because I wanted to be close enough to hold her hand. It's really cheesy, I know. But it just makes me so happy, holding her soft, dainty hands. And I think it makes her pretty happy too.

My dad was still ticked at me then and still is now, but I was able to slither out of a lot of his anger just by avoiding him. Which really wasn't hard. It helps when he's so busy all the time.

On the other hand, akuma attacks were rising. It wasn't a huge difference, but definitely noticeable. In fact, I just got back from one with an angry flower shop owner not too long ago. And it probably sounds a bit selfish of me, but I kinda like it. I really like getting to go out and fight off evil with not just LB, but Mari too. It is a bit nerve racking at times, but it's still fun. Just being with her is a blast.

And patrols were pretty fun too. We didn't usually come across any baddies, so we mostly just got to spend time together. I even convinced her to wear the bugaboo shirt I got her, and I wore the matching one. Some civilian (probably Alya) caught a picture of us with the shirts on and it was all over the news. People keep asking us if we're a couple, and even though we totally are, we've taken every chance to deny it. It's kinda fun to confuse the press like this.

I still have yet to convince Marinette to wear the t-shirt to school, but she does wear the scarf nearly every day so that's cool. It's probably a good thing she hasn't worn the shirt though, it might give away our identities, seeing as all of Paris knows we've been wearing the shirts as LB and CN...

But in the long run, it's all pretty great. I get so excited every morning cause I know I get to see her again at school or patrolling the city. Sometimes I've found myself nearly tripping while I run to school, cause I just can't wait for the Gorilla to take me. I find myself showing off more of my Cat Noir side in class, with an awful pun or sly smile here and there. And I'm also seeing Mari act more like the confident Ladybug she is. I'm really proud of her. I'm proud of us. Everything's going so well and I'm happier than I could even imagine. Mari's not a perfect person, but she's the perfect match for me. I love her so much I just can't express it enough. I hope that we can stay like this. She's just so great. I've even thought that maybe, just maybe, I could spend the rest of my life with her. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, I'll have plenty of time to think about that later. For now, all I need to know, is that Mari is my Lady, and that I'll always be her Cat.

-Adrien Agreste


End file.
